Chapter 273 - Death

“It’s turned smaller...” The waiter’s voice trembled, while the entire room was shrouded in an eerie atmosphere.

After checking his lower half, the waiter collapsed mentally, and did not even bother fastening his belt. Instead, he directly knelt onto the ground and started kowtowing continuously in fear. “Grandpa Ghost! I really didn’t want to say it; it was him who forced me! You should look for the right person to settle your grievances! Please don’t steal my manhood! If my manhood is stolen, then I won’t be able to reincarnate! I’ll become just a lonely wandering ghost!”

His words caused Gao Zhijian to cover himself with both hands, while Li Huowang also instinctively looked down.

Could this so-called ghost who steals people’s privates be here right now?

Li Huowang swiftly scanned around the room with an ugly expression on his face.

With his keen perceptions, he would definitely sense it if there really was something watching him within this room.

But he didn’t sense any gazes. This could mean only two things. Either the ghost was deliberately choosing to not look at him, or the entity simply had no eyes.

An invisible evil spirit? Could it be something like the Eighteenth Lunar?

Li Huowang dared not be careless when faced with an unknown enemy like that.

In this eerie place, Li Huowang couldn't bring himself to believe that an evil spirit capable of harming an entire region was only capable of slowly stealing from others.

Unnoticed by everyone within the room, Li Huowang separated his illusion and his invisible body. At the same time, his right hand grabbed onto the hilt of the sword behind him.

Gradually, the atmosphere in the room became unusually oppressive. Just as Li Huowang was concentrating on surveying the empty surroundings, the waiter, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly stood up and dashed out of the door.

Is it possible for this thing to possess others as well?!

Li Huowang subconsciously raised his sword and stabbed at the back of the fleeing waiter.

Seeing this, Gao Zhijian raised his stone slab, using it to block the sword. They collided with a clang.

In the blink of an eye, the waiter had already rushed out of the door.

Seeing this, Li Huowang turned his gaze filled with killing intent from the waiter onto Gao Zhijian.

Is this thing really so difficult to deal with? It already managed to take control of Gao Zhijian’s body?

On the other hand, Gao Zhijian, who was holding the stone slab, could see Li Huowang’s look of hatred as the latter looked at himself. Feeling anxious, he quickly said, “It... it’s me. I... I... I’m Zhijian.”

However, Li Huowang didn’t completely trust him at this moment. He looked at the honest face in front of him and asked, “You say you are, and that’s it? I judge others based on their actions and not their intentions. Gao Zhijian would have never tried to stop my sword! Who are you?”

“Senior... Senior Li, that person... is not possessed!” said Gao Zhijian.

“If he wasn’t possessed, then why did he suddenly run?” asked Li Huowang.

Li Huowang looked at the clear-eyed Gao Zhijian as he began pondering. Soon, he pointed outside with his sword. “Alright, since you say that you are Gao Zhijian, then prove it. Toss aside the sacred text and go find the waiter.”

The other party’s sudden movements were very strange. Whether he was possessed or not, Li Huowang had to get to the bottom of the matter.

Under Li Huowang’s coercion, Gao Zhijian tossed aside all his belongings in the room and went out to find the waiter who had escaped earlier.

It was quite easy to find the man; he had been scared by Li Huowang into peeing his pants, and so they just had to follow the trail of urine.

The trail did not continue for long. After wandering around the inn, Li Huowang finally found the waiter, pantsless, while hanging from the rafters in the kitchen.

A thick rope was wrapped around his neck, lifting his entire body into the air. As his body gently swayed from side to side, creaking sounds rang out.

It was obvious that the man had done it himself, since there was half a winter melon lying on the floor.

Since he had hanged himself, the waiter’s tongue was stretched out, and his face had turned purplish-black. He looked quite frightening, his eyes seemingly staring at Li Huowang.

“He... he...” Gao Zhijian was quite shocked as he pointed at the waiter, not knowing what to say. This person had been fine until just a moment ago, and yet had hanged himself now. It was all too sudden.

Li Huowang studied the fear and despair in the waiter’s eyes, as well as the hands that were firmly grabbing at his own neck. Then, he turned to look at Gao Zhijian and said, “You’re right; he wasn’t possessed. This guy decided to take the initiative to kill himself while he was still alive and could still reincarnate. Otherwise, he would have never been able to reincarnate.”

The thing that had killed the man was not some ghost stealing his manhood, but his own fear.

Li Huowang held his sword and slowly circled around the kitchen, searching for this so-called ghost. He had encountered many evil spirits before, but he had never been as clueless when dealing with one as today.

Even though he had not seen anything, someone had already died.

As he circled around, Li Huowang shifted his gaze downward to look at the waiter’s genitals; they seemed quite small.

“Daoist, what should we do? We don’t even know where the rest of them are. You’re going to be in trouble!” said Monk, looking worried; it was as though he was genuinely concerned about Li Huowang.

Li Huowang glanced at him and said in a deep voice, “Don’t panic. Since this thing spreads through speech, currently, it’s now only targeting Gao Zhijian and me. The rest are safe for now. And with my current state, it’s still too early for whatever it is to try and kill me. As for Gao Zhijian... he will be fine.”

“Senior... Senior Li, what... should we do?” asked Gao Zhijian. As someone who had always been slower to react, he now seemed a little panicked. He had loosened his pants and was anxiously reaching in and tugging at the thing within. He was afraid that the thing might accidentally shrink into his stomach without him noticing.

Li Huowang stood on the spot and surveyed his surroundings. The kitchen should have been very normal, but now, it seemed exceptionally terrifying. The chili peppers, the kitchen knives, the chopping boards, the firewood; each item seemed to be concealing danger within.

After a while, Li Huowang pulled his pants and looked inside. Upon confirming that there were no changes just yet, he heaved a sigh of relief. From the looks of it, this process of shrinking yang was not something one-off. It was a gradual process, and he still had time to figure out a solution.

“Don’t panic. As long as we understand the origin of this thing and find out its weaknesses, we will definitely be able to take care of it!” said Li Huowang as he sheathed his sword and turned back toward the inn. “Gao Zhijian, stand guard in the inn! Tell everyone else to stay put and not to run around. Also, don’t tell anyone else about this matter. I will think of a way to expose this thing from its hiding spot!”

“Daoist, where are you going?” asked Monk who had half his body stuck in the wall in a confused voice.

“Now that we know that all the residents of Pi County are victims, they are on our side too. There’s no need to hide anything anymore. I am going to need the Magistrate of Pi County to help me deal with that thing!”